1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to electronic warfare and communications systems and, more specifically, to a Method and Apparatus to Perform Surgical Reactive Jamming while Maintaining Simultaneous Tactical Communications.
2. Description of Related Art
Due to the pervasive use of electronic jamming in the modem warfare field, reliably maintaining friendly communications has become increasingly difficult. To date, there has been no other device coupling an enhanced electronic warfare jamming capability to deny enemy communications while simultaneously maintaining a tactical communications link. This capability is essential for mobile surgical reactive jammer units in the field. Such field units typically need to maintain their own secure voice communications (“comms”) with other mobile units, or higher echelon commands, for tactical orders, safety considerations, and battlefield coordination. The problem for present day units is that while performing their respective jamming missions, it precludes them from using their own tactical communications links due to the RF interference of having the jamming equipment in such close proximity to the tactical comms equipment. Thus the operating personnel must make a choice between using one or the other at any given time.
What is needed is a system and method that solves that issue and provides a unique capability to perform both surgical reactive jamming and tactical communications simultaneously, in one device, without any interference between the two functions.
The jammer device described by patent application Ser. No. 10/912,976 is sometimes referred to in the Electronic Warfare industry as a “wideband reactive jammer”, “surgical follower jammer,” or a “surgical reactive jammer” because it has the ability to quickly find enemy signals and then apply energy exactly on target so as to jam those enemy communication signals. This has greatest application against modem military radios that are known as “frequency hoppers”. The current world industrial trend today is that these frequency hopper radios are getting faster and faster, which makes them harder to jam and intercept. The faster the hopper radios, the closer they need to be to each other in order to maintain synchronization. Thus this also implies that in the future, jamming equipment will need to be closer to them in order to effectively have enough time to react to those signals. The fact that future electronic warfare jammers will need to be closer to their intended targets means that mobile jammer units will need to become more sophisticated, agile, and stay in constant communications contact with their commanders. The solution is to successfully modify jammer equipment to also perform as a comms system. The advantage is that the power amplifiers and the filters that are already used for jamming operations can be re-used. This greatly reduces the size and weight of such equipment that can perform both jamming and tactical comms.
What is needed therefore in order to feasibly detect and jam modem fast transmissions while at the same time maintain tactical communications is a system that not only has: 1) The near-realtime jamming capability described in the aforementioned previous patent application Ser. No. 10/912,976; 2) The ability to accept analog voice or data for processing and transmission; 3) The ability to receive and distinguish enemy signals from friendly signals, and finally 4) The ability to be precisely synchronized with all other like units in the field in both timing and communications hop sets.